Don't Fear the Reaper
by Verdreht
Summary: Shuuhei has always feared the power of Kazeshini. But when a desperate situation forces him to increase that power, his fear grows with it. He's terrified by it. With lives on the line, including Shuuhei's own, can Renji convince him in time that he doesn't have to be afraid? Or will the next life Kazeshini reaps...be Shuuhei's? Shuu/Ren Ren/Shuu
1. Chapter 1

The forest was filled with the din of heavy rain. Through the trees, figures in black sped, seeming to flash in and out of existence as they raced towards their target. Thunder cracked deafeningly; lightning lit up the sky with a hauntingly pale glow.

A roar sounded in the distance, like a thousand screams piercing the air, like every sound of agony and hatred ever uttered.

The head figure stopped short, his sandled feet planting in the muddy ground of the dirt path. The pouring rain had plastered his raven hair to his head, and water traced three parallel scars as it ran in rivulets down his face.

Another figured stopped beside him. This one was considerably larger than the leader, with a topknot, sideburns, and thick moustache. Unlike his predecessor, who stared stoically – maybe even a little boredly – ahead, his beady eyes as wide as they seemed to be able to get.

"Lieutenant Hisagi," he started, and if the leader noticed the tremor in his voice, he didn't bother mentioning it, "what was that?"

Shuuhei didn't so much as glance over at the other man, nor at the dozen or so other shinigami that had fallen in behind him. His gaze was fixed on the dark swirl of clouds before them, and his face was set firmly.

"That, Toshimori, was the sound a hollow makes when it's found its prey," he said, and that was all the explanation he gave before taking off yet again. He couldn't afford to waste time; there was a Squad Seven patrol in the area that had reported the disturbance, and from the sounds of those roars, they might need reinforcements.

The roars grew louder, but Shuuhei didn't hesitate. No, he pushed harder, ran faster, and as he broke into the clearing and laid eyes on the haze of white faces, the air was pierced by a cry.

"Reap, Kazeshini!"


	2. Chapter 2

"Finally," Renji said, scowling as he signed on the last dotted line in what had to be a forest's worth of paperwork.

Rikichi, who had been waiting just outside the door, chose that moment to step inside. "Are you finished, Abarai-fukutaichou?"

"I damn well better be." He'd been at it for hours, for crying out loud, and he had the hand cramps to prove it. He just wasn't cut out for desk work; give him an army of hollows any day. Hell, he'd have probably preferred to go a few rounds with some arrancar than wade his way through another stack of reports like the one he'd just finished.

"If you want, I wouldn't mind delivering them for you," Rikichi said.

Renji raised an eyebrow. "You sure?" Truth be told, he hadn't been looking forward to trekking all the way over to Squad Eleven's barracks just to deliver a few papers. It was pouring out there, and even though he didn't _hate_ the rain – he was starting to, but that had nothing to do with being out in it and everything to do with what it did to a certain someone he cared for – he didn't exactly go out and take strolls in it if he could help it.

Luckily, Rikichi nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, Abarai-fukutaichou. It would be my pleasure!" The way he said it, Renji kind of wondered if he actually meant it. The guy was really over-the-top sometimes; Renji got tired just watching him.

Still, he appreciated it. Grabbing up the stack of papers, he handed the lot of them over to the eager squad member. "It all goes to the 11th Division," he explained, "so you don't have to bother with—"

A sudden surge of spiritual pressure stopped Renji mid-sentence. Tensing, he turned to the door, just in time to see Rangiku come running into the room. One look at her, at her damp and wind-blown hair and the not-quite-panicked-but-close look in her eyes, and Renji's was reaching for his sword.

"Rangiku? What is it?" he said, maybe just a little sharper than he had to.

Then again….

"I'll explain on the way, but you need to come with me, now," she said. Renji opened his mouth to protest, but before he could even take in the breath to speak, she cut him off. "It's Shuuhei."

That was all Renji needed to hear.

"Take me to him."

Rangiku nodded, and in an instant, the two figures flashed away.

In their wake, Rikichi let out a whimper. Around him, hundreds of papers floated to the ground.

* * *

"Damn it, Rangiku, where are we going?" Renji shouted. He didn't mind that Rangiku was flash-stepping through Seireitei at a breakneck pace; the sooner he got to where Shuuhei was, the better. That was the problem, though. They were reaching the Shōryūmon Gate to the East, and not only had they not found Shuuhei, but Renji had no idea where they were _going_ to find Shuuhei, or how long that was going to take.

Rangiku glanced back at him, but kept going just as fast as before. "Shuuhei's squad was called out to a disturbance in the forest. A Squad Seven patrol reported some hollow sightings, but it seemed like a regular disturbance."

"Then what happened?" Obviously _something_ did, or else they wouldn't be hauling ass out of Seireitei. If he had to wager a guess, he'd say it wasn't quite as regular as it had seemed. The guys in the 12th Division, creepy bastards though they were, were usually pretty good at gathering information, but even they couldn't know everything. Renji knew first hand that sometimes, a soul reaper could get a little more than they bargained for showing up at a "routine" hollow sighting.

"A member of the 9th Division company sent to investigate the report just returned a few minutes ago. It…it wasn't good."

"What do you mean?"

"He didn't say much before he lost consciousness, but he managed to tell us that they were ambushed. He said there were more hollows than were reported, and that they needed backup as soon as possible."

Renji's chest tightened. _Ambushed_, Rangiku had said; the word echoed in his head. He was so caught up in them, so distracted, that he almost didn't notice when Rangiku stopped. As it was, it was all he could do to stop before he bowled the blonde over.

He scowled, all too ready to shout at Rangiku to maybe give a guy a little warning next time…but then he saw her face. She'd stopped short and turned on him, and there was something in her eyes. Vaguely, Renji noticed they were no longer in Seireitei, but rather at the edge of the forest in East Rukongai. Most of his attention, however, was devoted to what Rangiku said next.

"Renji," she said softly, and damned if her eyes didn't look misty, "he said the others might already be dead."

Suddenly, it was if someone had punched him straight in the gut. All the air left his lungs in a rush, and his ears started ringing. _The others might already be dead_…_Shuuhei…Shuuhei might already be—_

"No." Renji shook his head forcibly. "No way a couple of hollows are gonna take him out." It was hard for even Renji to tell whom he was trying to convince, but he was gonna go with it. "We need to get him that backup he called for, though, and the sooner, the better. We need to stop wasting time."

"We were just waiting on you two."

Renji turned and, to his surprise, saw not just one, but _two_ captains standing just behind him. "Captain Hitsugaya. Captain Muguruma. What are you—?"

"10th Division was deployed as reinforcements," Toshiro said. "And Captain Unohana will be coming soon with the 1st Relief Team."

That explained one of them. Renji turned his gaze to the taller of the white-haired men.

"Me?" Kensei said. "I just tagged along."

Somehow, Renji didn't think that was it. He knew Kensei and Shuuhei were close – Shuuhei had always looked up to him, and now that he was back as Captain of the 9th Division, it was like a little bit of the damage Tousen had done was starting to heal.

Whatever the reason, the end result was the same, and Renji was just happy to have another set of hands. "Well then," he said, "we're here. Nothing else to wait for, right?"

Toshiro shook his head. "No."

"Then let's get going."


	3. Chapter 3

Renji flashed through the trees at an impossible pace, tearing through the curtain of rain and ignoring the way the droplets stung at his face like needles. In the back of his head, he knew he was going too fast. At the pace he was going, there was no way the other shinigami could keep up.

He just didn't care.

The captains were keeping up just fine, and Rangiku was there, and that would be enough. It would have to be; he couldn't afford to slow down.

His senses were alight. The reiatsu in the area was electric as the lightning flashing in the sky; the air crackled with it. It pushed him faster and faster, because even as he ran at his fastest, it still wasn't enough.

"Damnit!" Renji screamed. He could see the chaos up ahead, the clouds circling the trees. He could hear the roars of hollows, broken only by cracks of thunder so loud and deep he could feel them echo in his chest. They were close. So very close.

"What are you doing, Abarai?" It was Toshiro. "You can't rush in like this; you're going to get yourself killed!"

"I'm not slowing down!" If anything, he was speeding up. As much as he could, he was pushing himself to go faster. Forms were beginning to appear in the distance, over the treetops and, slowly, through an ever-growing break in the trees. There was a clearing up ahead; that was where all the reiatsu was concentrated. That was where Renji was going.

Beside him, another flash of white caught his eye. "He's not telling you to slow down," said Kensei. "He's telling you to _calm_ down, before you get all of us and all of them," he nodded towards the clearing, "_killed_. Understand?"

Renji's jaw clenched. He didn't like it, but they were right; he was being an idiot, and he was going to get people hurt rushing in. But still,

"You better be okay," he said under his breath, "Shuuhei."

Because Renji wouldn't be able to bear the alternative.

"Stop."

Kensei's one-word command had the desired effect. They all stopped dead in their tracks, just a few dozen meters short of the clearing's opening.

"What's going on?" Renji snapped. "Why are we stopping?"

Kensei nodded towards the clearing. "Look."

Renji did. And what he saw….

Bodies. There were bodies littering the ground. All were shinigami, and from what Renji could gather from the iris insignias on their badges, at least most of them were from Squad Seven. Still, he found his eyes searching…the white poppy insignia…a familiar head of black hair…a sleeveless shihakusho….

"This was…a massacre," Rangiku breathed, effectively snapping Renji out of his shocked daze.

Kensei's face hardened. "Looks that way. But then, I don't think they were expecting to fight an army."

"What do you mean, an army?" Rangiku asked.

It took a second, but Renji found his voice in time to point up ahead. "That's what he means."

Kensei was right: it was an army. An army of hollows filled the clearing. Renji couldn't count them all – couldn't even see them all _to_ count them, but he knew it was a lot. It was definitely too many for a patrol of low-seated officers and unseated squad members to hope to take care of. From the looks of things, that was exactly what the Squad Seven patrol had been.

As for the 9th Division…

"Renji…."

Renji didn't need to look to see the pity and sadness in Rangiku's eyes; he could picture it just fine. She thought Shuuhei was dead, and even Renji had to admit, it looked bad. He hadn't seen that many hollows in one place in a long time…

Still, "What are we standing here for?" he growled, curling his fingers around the hilt of his zanpakuto. "Let's go!" And Kensei's warning be damned, Renji took off. After all, with that many hollows, the survivors – and Renji refused to believe there weren't any until he saw it with his own two eyes – would be worse off if he _didn't_ run in and help them.

He made it all of five steps.

Suddenly, a scream pierced the air, cutting through the roaring hollows and the rolling thunder alike, and with it came a wave…a wave of the most intense spiritual pressure Renji had ever felt. It wasn't the strongest, it wasn't the heaviest, but it was so sharp_. _Like a blade, it cut through him. It pierced him, and in the intensity of it, Renji was momentarily frozen.

That voice…

That spiritual pressure…

"Shuuhei!"

Without a second thought, Renji drew his zanpakuto and rushed straight into the wall of hollows. He didn't care how many of them there were. Shuuhei's scream and spiritual pressure both were coming from the middle of the clearing, somewhere behind the hordes of hollows, and nothing was going to stand in his way. "Roar, Zabimaru!"

Behind him, it sounded like the others had the same idea as him. He could hear Kensei, Rangiku, and Toshiro all releasing their zanpakuto, and the sounds of steel and shouts and _battle_ filled the air. This many hollows, they couldn't afford to hold back. Not with lives on the line.

Especially not when one of those lives was Shuuhei's.

He could still feel it, thick in the air: Shuuhei's spiritual pressure. It was insane – stronger than Renji had ever felt it. But it was more than that. Shuuhei's reiatsu was always so measured and controlled, but this…this was almost _wild_. Out of control.

_Something's wrong_, Renji thought as he dispatched another handful of hollows. Their ranks were starting to thin; they didn't stand a chance against two lieutenants and two captains, not to mention the other officers that had been part of the dispatch.

A shadow crossed the field, and Renji glanced up to see the pale yellow belly of Minazuki's released state.

Make that _three_ captains. It seemed 4th Division had arrived.

They were just in time, too. With the ranks of the hollows dwindling, the focus of the mission was beginning to shift to recovery. Only a few dozen hollows remained, and strangely, they all seemed to be circling something on the far side of the clearing. There were a few stragglers that had turned their attention on the newcomer shinigami, but for the most part, that was where the remaining hollows were.

If he had to take a guess, Renji would say that was where the survivors of the 9th and 7th Division patrols were, too.

_Hang on, Shuuhei. I'm com—_

Before Renji could even finish the thought, another scream broke through the air. He didn't see what it was – there wasn't anything _to_ see – but it knocked him back off his feet and sent him flying. Stunned, he could only watch as the hollows in the circle he'd just been about to attack were suddenly shredded. It was like…it was like they were ripped apart by the air itself.

Renji hit the ground hard. The force of the blast made him slide across the muddy ground a good few meters before he managed to roll and get his feet under him, and even when he did—

His eyes widened.

"No," he breathed. "That can't—that can't be."

But it was, and he was seeing it with his very own eyes.

"Well, what do you know?" Renji looked up to see Kensei standing beside him, staring ahead of them with a grim sort of smile on his face. "Looks like Shuuhei's gone and achieved Bankai."

That was what it was, then, that air that seemed to cut and shred: Shuuhei's Bankai.

It was amazing. Even from where he was standing, a good ways back, Renji could feel the heaviness of the wind as it circled. It beat against his face, whipping his hair and his clothes, and driving the rain like needles into his skin.

A cyclone of blades.

And at the center stood Shuuhei, surrounded by the fallen forms of what had to be ten, maybe twelve other shinigami. His arms were stretched out at his sides, and it wasn't until Renji looked closer that he was able to realize what was going on.

Chains. Dozens of them, maybe hundreds, covered Shuuhei's body. Thin and slate black, they curled up his outstretched arms, hung around his shoulders, around his thin hips. Even his legs, bared nearly to his knees from his shredded shihakusho, were bound in them.

Renji recognized them as the same chains that connected his two kusarigama blades when his zanpakuto was in its Shikai form, only…more. Way more. It would have had to be, Renji realized.

It was the only way he could control the hundreds of windmill-shaped blades spiraling in the air.

"Shuuhei!" Renji turned to see Rangiku approaching, and realized with a start that she was running _straight_ for Shuuhei.

Only…Shuuhei hadn't stopped. The blades were still going, and it didn't look like they were slowing down.

"Rangiku!"

Just as Renji was jumping to his feet to try to stop the other lieutenant, a blur of white appeared in front of her, cutting her off.

"Stop, Matsumoto," Toshiro said.

Rangiku did, but not without giving her captain an odd look. "What are you doing, Captain? It's safe; Shuuhei took out all of the hollows with that attack."

"That he did. But look," Toshiro glanced over his own shoulder, "the attack isn't over. And it's definitely _not safe_."

For the first time, Rangiku seemed to notice that, in fact, Toshiro was right. The wind was still swirling with Shuuhei's Bankai. Her eyes widened and her lips pulled down into a frown that was probably reflected, to some degree or another, on all of their faces.

"I don't understand," she said after a moment. "Why hasn't he returned his zanpakuto to its sealed form? Why is he still attacking?"

"He isn't attacking."

"Captain Unohana?"

The captain of the 4th Division had somehow managed to appear beside them, on Renji's other side, and was watching the scene with a worried sort of expression. Her brows were furrowed slightly, and she wore an almost maternal incarnation of the frown that all the others wore.

"She's right, Lieutenant Matsumoto," Kensei said. "Shuuhei's not attacking anybody."

"Then what the hell's he doing?"

Renji swallowed the lump that had risen in his throat to answer. "He's defending…he's defending all of them."

Kensei nodded. "Give the man a prize. He's set up a perimeter around himself and those other shinigami, and from the looks of things, he's gonna hold it as long as he can."

"But why?" asked Rangiku. "The hollows are gone. Doesn't he know that?"

"I don't think he does." Retsu's measure voice seemed out of place in the chaos of the battlefield. Normally, Renji thought it was kind of soothing, but now…to be honest, he didn't think anything could soothe him then. "I'm not even sure he can."

"What do you mean by that?" This time, it was Renji asking the questions.

And it was Retsu giving the answers. "Look at his wounds," she said softly.

"His…wounds?" But even as he spoke, Renji began to see. He began to see the way Shuuhei's shihakusho was torn on the right side, and the way all the flesh it had revealed looked red in the weak evening light. He began to see the way his right arm stood out lower than the other, as if he couldn't quite raise it as high, and the way his weight shifted away from his left side, like he was favoring that leg. He began to see the blood…the way it covered the right half of his face, the way it soaked into his sash and even his tabi. He began to see the way his chest heaved, the way his head hung as if he barely had the strength to keep it up.

Shuuhei wasn't just hurt; he was exhausted. He was past his limit, but still he was fighting with this fierce desperation that made Renji's heart pound violently in his chest. It reflected in his eyes. Renji could see it from there: the _fear_. The pure, frantic terror in those slate gray eyes was like a physical blow to Renji's heart.

"The kid's terrified," came Kensei's gruff voice, effectively snapping Renji out of his head and back into the present. "Just look at him; he's like a wild animal that's been backed into a corner."

Renji's temper boiled. "Don't talk about him like that!" he snapped.

"Relax, Abarai. I don't blame him." Kensei's eyes hardened. "But that doesn't change the fact that he's out of his damn head. The only thing he's thinking about is surviving – the frenzy's pushed everything out. He's doing his damndest to keep himself and everyone inside that circle alive, and that's all he cares about."

"Captain Muguruma is right," Retsu said. "He's in shock. All the same, he and those men need medical attention, and we can't do that while his Bankai is still active."

Toshiro's hand fell to his sword. "Alright, then," he said.

"No!" Renji interrupted Toshiro before he could even take a step forward. Toshiro turned, a look of confusion on his face, but Renji just kept walking. "I'll take care of this."

"Abarai—"

"Let him do it, kid," Kensei said from behind him. There was a certain understanding in his voice that the situation didn't give Renji time to appreciate. If he remembered, he'd thank the guy later.

But for the time being,

"Shuuhei!" Renji shouted, stopping just short of the blades' reach. Four, maybe five meters separated them physically, but that wasn't all that stood between them. The wind still whipped violently, and if anything, it was only getting stronger. "Damnit, Shuuhei, listen to—"

Another burst of spiritual pressure killed the words in Renji's chest. He felt something sting at his cheek that wasn't rain and realized maybe he wasn't quite out of the blades' reach like he thought.

He didn't step back. He couldn't. Doing that would mean he had doubts, that he thought Shuuhei would hurt him. Kensei could say what he wanted about Shuuhei being out of his head, but Shuuhei was doing all this to _protect_ people. That, Renji thought, should tell him everything he needed to know.

Of course, this latest setback told him something else: talking wasn't going to work. Not in the time he needed it to. Now that he was closer, he could see Shuuhei's wounds better, and he wasn't exactly admiring the view. His right side was a mess, all bloody and raw-looking, and his face really was covered in blood. No, they didn't have time for talk.

Time for Plan B, then.

"Howl, Zabimaru!"


	4. Chapter 4

For a moment, the world seemed to explode.

The sky lit up in a flash, and a deafening sound erupted as Renji plunged Zabimaru into the whirlwind of Shuuhei's Kazeshini. If he could just disrupt the current…if he could break the momentum, then he might be able to—

There!

He saw an opening, where Zabimaru had broken through and the cycle had faltered for just an instant. It wasn't much, but then, he wasn't in much of a position to be picky.

He took it. He lunged, throwing caution to the wind, and steeled himself for whatever happened. Either he would be cut to shreds, or he would make it through, and he wouldn't know which one it was until he—

Until he full-on tackled the guy.

As soon as his shoulder hit the solid mass that he knew was Shuuhei, he felt the atmosphere seem to lighten. That intense spiritual pressure that had been so oppressive before lifted, and the air went almost deathly still.

A grunt broke from both their lips as they landed, and Renji couldn't help wincing. He'd have liked to find a way to break Shuuhei's fall, but honestly, it was all he could do to keep from falling on the guy. That, he decided, would've been the last thing he needed. Up close, Renji could see he was a mess. Every wound he'd seen before was laid out before him in startling detail, and Renji was actually amazed he was even still conscious.

That said, for a guy that should've been out cold, he was putting up a hell of a fight. He'd been still for a second when he'd hit the ground – Renji got the feeling he'd probably just stunned him a little bit – but then, as if someone had flipped a switch in his head, he lost it.

He tried to roll over onto his side, presumably to push himself up, but Renji was already on him. Catching Shuuhei's good shoulder, he held him back to the ground. "Hold on, Shuuhei. You're not going—Hey!" To Renji's surprise, Shuuhei threw out his elbow. If it had gone his way, Renji imagined he would've liked to knock his hand off his shoulder and make a break for it.

Unfortunately, it seemed like a lot of things weren't going Shuuhei's way that day. He _did_ manage to get Renji's hand loose, but before he could get away, Renji'd grabbed hold of his wrist instead.

Using his greater height and weight to his advantage, Renji managed not only to pin his hand above his head, but straddling his waist, he managed to pin the rest of him down, too. "Hey, what are you doing? It's me, Shuu. It's Renji! I'm not the enemy, here!"

But Shuuhei didn't seem to be listening. With a single-minded determination that, on any other day, Renji would've been proud of, he twisted and thrashed and just generally did his damndest to get free.

Renji held firm. Shuuhei had always been the quicker of the two of them, but Renji had always been the stronger. And that was when he was healthy. Right now…like he said, Renji was amazed he was still conscious. Thrashing like he was probably wasn't helping, either. If he kept going like he was, he was going to hurt himself more.

"Damn it, Shuuhei!" he shouted. "You have to calm down! You're going to hurt yourself if you keep fighting me like this! Don't you understand? Look at me! Do I look like a hollow to you?" Fighting back a growl, Renji managed to get both Shuuhei's thin wrists in one hand and used the other to grab Shuuhei's chin. He forced it up, forced Shuuhei to face him, and tried again, softer this time. "Shuu, it's okay. You're safe now. Just open your eyes and look at me."

Shuuhei didn't open his eyes, though. If anything, he just clenched them harder and tried to turn his head.

But then, he heard it.

"_Get away_."

Renji's eyes widened. "What?"

At his question, he felt the tension in Shuuhei's neck go slack. The 9th Squad lieutenant actually turned his head _towards_ Renji, and to Renji's amazement, one single slate-gray eye peeled open.

"I said," Renji felt him tense, "get away!"

This time, Renji wasn't caught off guard. When he'd felt him tense, he'd known what was coming, and as Shuuhei's struggles picked up, he was ready. He held him firm, keeping both Shuuhei's wrist in one hand and moving the other up to hold his forehead down to the ground. He had a nasty gash above his eye, and it had started bleeding again, profusely. His right eye was already closed, though whether it was from the blood or the swelling, Renji couldn't tell. Either way, he didn't like it. This needed to end.

"I need some help over here," he shouted. "Captain Unohana!"

"I'm here, Renji." Sure enough, she was already standing a few feet from Shuuhei's head. Kensei, too, had made his way over, though Renji was a little bit relieved to see that Rangiku seemed to have found somewhere else to be. He knew Shuuhei wouldn't have wanted her to see him like this: injured, scared.

As it was, he already seemed pretty distressed at the new arrivals. His spiritual pressure flared briefly, and his struggles increased, until, with a frustrated cry that was a mix between a scream and a snarl, he couldn't seem to fight anymore. He still twisted, still writhed, but as Retsu knelt down at his head, most of his strength seemed to have left him.

"Please," Shuuhei ground out breathlessly. Renji decided he didn't like the way his chest was heaving; his quick, shallow breaths seemed to take too much effort. "Get…get away…from me. I can't—"

"No one is in any danger here, Lieutenant," Retsu said gently. Behind Renji, the rest of the First Relief Team seemed to be taking on the rest of fallen soul reapers.

"This one's alive!" he heard Ieumura shout behind him, and his announcement was echoed by many others.

"There, you see? You've done well, Lieutenant. Your men are safe." Her hands came to rest on either side of Shuuhei's head, drawing a panicked sort of sound from deep in Shuuhei's throat. He tried to get away from her, but Renji held his head in place. "It's alright, now."

When Shuuhei's gaze flicked down to him once again, Renji felt his heart seize up. It was like, with that look, he was asking him…he was asking him if it really was okay.

If Renji's eyes started burning, well then, he'd blame it on all the wind drying them out, and if maybe his cheeks were wet, then it had to be the rain. In response to Shuuhei's unspoken question, he forced a smile. "You heard her," he said. "There's nothing to be afraid of. You did it, Shuu. You kept them all alive."

For a second, Renji could've sworn he saw a flash of relief cross Shuuhei's face. It didn't last long, though.

Retsu's palms, inches away from either side of Shuuhei's head, started glowing with a soft green light that Renji recognized as a healing Kido, and that look of relief on Shuuhei's face turned into one of alarm. He let out a grunt and redoubled his efforts to get loose.

Not that it did him much good. Renji had him pinned already, and even if he hadn't, Kensei seemed to decide that was a good time for him to step in. "Move over, kid," he said, kneeling down on Shuuhei's left and gesturing for Renji to take his right.

Renji was happy for the help. Honestly, he wasn't sure how bad Shuuhei's wounds were, but he figured it was a pretty safe bet to say that sitting on him wasn't helping them. With Kensei holding Shuuhei's left, he shifted over to his right side. He couldn't really do much to hold him from there, what with his shoulder being the mess that it was – burns and bruises covered everything from his shoulder all the way down to his hip – but he was able to catch Shuuhei's hand in his own. For a second, he was worried that nothing was holding his legs, but then he realized…nothing needed to. His legs weren't moving.

Now that Renji thought about it, it seemed like all of his movements were slowing down. He wasn't the only one that noticed, either.

Shuuhei's eye narrowed, his teeth gritting as he strained against whatever it stopping him. "What…what are you—"

"You have done well, Shuuhei Hisagi," Retsu said. "It's time to rest, now."

_So that's what it is_, Renji thought. _Captain Unohana's doing this_.

"No," Shuuhei ground out. Renji felt his hand tighten in his own, felt him tense his arms until his elbows dug into the ground and his shoulders lifted from it. Damn, but he was trying. With everything he had, he was still fighting. "I…I have to…"

"You idiot."

Shuuhei seemed to give a start, his gaze snapping to Kensei.

The white-haired captain met it with a fond grin that was only a little bit forced, and Renji watched him squeeze Shuuhei's shoulder firmly. "The fight's over, kid. You did a damn good job. Now let the rest of us take it from here."

"But I—" The rest of Shuuhei's protest was lost to a cough, and as Shuuhei winced, Renji was alarmed to see red on his lips. Retsu must've noticed, too, because the glow in her palms intensified. In a matter of seconds, Renji felt Shuuhei's arms go slack, and he and Kensei very carefully eased him the couple of inches back to the ground.

"We got ya, Shuu," Renji said. "You just close your eyes and take a nap for a while."

Shuuhei still didn't look happy about it, but he didn't even seem to have it in him to muster up a protest. Instead, a tense sigh broke from his lips, and he let his head fall back against the muddy ground. "Shit."

The last bits of tension in Shuuhei's battered body held only a few seconds after that, and slowly, Shuuhei's eye began to slide closed. From the way it flickered, Renji had to guess Shuuhei wasn't ready to give all the way up yet – poor guy probably didn't know _how_ to give up all the up.

Renji couldn't help smiling a little bit. "Always so stubborn," he said. "Just go the hell to sleep, would you?"

Briefly, Shuuhei's brows furrowed. But then their gazes met, a familiar match of slate gray and brown, and Renji watched as the corner of Shuuhei's lip twitched upwards.

And then his eye slid shut, his body went slack, and Shuuhei Hisagi was lost to the world.

"It's about damn time," Kensei said, and with a sigh of his own, he stood. "Take care of him, Unohana." When he started around behind Retsu, Renji thought that he was leaving. However, to his surprise, he felt a hand settle on his head. He looked up to see Kensei standing over him. "You too, kid."

Renji nodded firmly. "Believe me, I will."

"Well then," Kensei smiled. "I'll leave him in your capable hands, you two. Good luck." And with that, he walked away.

For a long moment, Renji stared after him. _That guy…._

"Lieutenant Abarai." Retsu's voice snapped Renji's attention back to the task at hand. "I'm sorry to ask this, but I'll need you to remove your hand before I can properly stabilize him."

"Wha—oh. Oh, right." Renji pulled his hand away from Shuuhei's and did his best to pretend it didn't hurt as much to do it as it did. "Is there," his voice caught, and he cleared his throat before continuing, "is there anything I can do to help, Captain Unohana?"

Retsu looked up at him, and Renji was struck with this sudden feeling of transparency, as if she was seeing straight through him without even trying. And then she smiled at him. "I think the best thing for you to do right now," she said, "is to stay right here. Would you mind that terribly, Lieutenant Abarai?"

"N-no." The word escaped his lips in a shaky breath. "No, Captain Unohana…I wouldn't mind at all."


End file.
